Fifthroom Living

Imagine an outdoor living space in your own backyard that likens itself to the Brazilian or Caribbean Tropics. Drinking out of the ordinary cocktails and snacking on pineapple and guava, you’re sure to feel complete and total escape from the daily grind of temperate climates. But, you might be thinking that you just live too far north to feel such equatorial repose. You’re in luck! I can show you how to recreate a tropical paradise no matter where you live.

In that pile of paper is the power to create unique, wonderful, personal CARDS! I love cards! I make them like crazy and send them out like a madwoman. Don’t you love getting REAL mail? The kind that comes in your big box at the end of the driveway. Where you touch the envelope and wonder what is inside?

If you have been thinking of adding a backyard structure to your landscape, but are not sure what direction to take, allow me to suggest the emulation of a Japanese Tea House. Called a Chashitsu in Japanese, these small buildings were designed to hold traditional tea ceremonies. While a beautiful and ancient tradition, you don’t necessarily need to commit your backyard tea house to Japanese tea ceremonies. Instead, you can use it to embrace the Far Eastern ideals of meditation, contemplation, and unity with nature.

In just a few weeks, it’ll be time to plant some annual color, both in containers and in your planting beds. And, unless you want a crazy-quilt cottage garden featuring every color in the rainbow (and hey, those are good, too!), most people want to choose two colors that will pop. But which two? If you’re ready to step outside the norm, here are some eye-catchers to try:

Instead of spending your time and energy on the latest gardening tools for the season, why not set the stage for your poolside gatherings instead? Contrary to popular belief, the design of your pool does not end once the concrete is poured and the water is filled and cleaned. By incorporating one of the following chaise longue chairs onto the patio area of your pool deck, your simple pool could pass for the Roosevelt Hotel pool in Hollywood.

Can you feel it? Spring is in the air. Outside, it’s warming up and flowers are beginning to sprout. With the weather becoming milder, now is a great time to bring some of that delicious feeling indoors. Here are five easy ways to bring a little bit of spring inside.

You don’t have to garden on a tiny balcony or live in a diminutive garden home to use the vertical gardening techniques that are so popular right now. Even gardeners with several acres likely have those tricky spaces that leave us scratching our heads—narrow side yards, spaces between fences and garages, entrances to gardens, and space-challenged courtyards all provide us with challenges that deserve some prior planning.

The Spring Equinox is considered the start of the bright spring season and falls on Sunday, March 20 this year. Marked from the beginning of ancient traditions as a sacred day in which there are exactly 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, it is one of two days in our planet’s revolution in which the Earth is perfectly in balance